Track 3 of the UN Secretary-General’s Climate Action Summit to be held in New York on 23 September 2019 will be Youth Engagement & Public Mobilization. Plans are still evolving. The following is based on documents published in April, May and July 2019.

Objective 1: Respond to the unprecedented mobilization of young people worldwide who are demanding ambitious climate action in the lead-up to the Secretary General’s Climate Action Summit.

This objective will be achieved by the following outcomes.

Youth Climate Summit

This Summit on 21 September is a platform for young people from across the globe who are driving climate action to:
■ Showcase their solutions and actions at the United Nations;
■ Engage with decision-makers on the defining issue of our time.
The Youth Climate Summit will feature a full-day of programming that brings together more than 500 young activists, innovators,
entrepreneurs, and change-makers who are committed to combating climate change at the pace and scale needed to meet the challenge. It will also feature a strong intergenerational component that will carry forward into the UNSG Climate Summit on Monday.

Youth and Civil Society Pledge

UN member states, regions and cities would pledge to consult youth and the public in the formulation and implementation of climate action policies.

Recent climate strikes have shown that young people and civil society are demanding action on climate and want to be engaged in the decision making process. The time to respond with action is now.

Intergenerational Dialogue

An intergenerational dialogue would give an opportunity to youth activists from both the global south and north to question world political leaders about addressing climate change.
Providing youth leaders of climate action with a chance to ask bold and provocative questions of political leaders as well as propose concrete solutions in a UN setting will be an important statement that the voices of youth are being listened to, and more importantly are being responded to.
An “Intergenerational Town Hall Meeting” is planned which will include Heads of State and Government and other leaders discussing climate action with youth representatives. This will provide a demonstration of the whole-of-society and cross-generational approach needed to address the adverse effects of climate change.
Youth participants would aim to include prominent youth climate activists with a particular focus on youth from SIDS and Global South.

Objective 2: engage and mobilize young entrepreneurs, innovators, and
engineers to deliver low-carbon solutions; support those who already do to scale their efforts

This will be achieved by the following.

The United Nations launched the “Summer of Solutions” campaign— a call for young people around the world to create innovative technology-based solutions to global challenges. Selected participants and their ideas will have a chance to be showcased at the UNSG Summit and/or the Youth Climate Summit.

X dollars committed from the private sector and philanthropic foundations to support selected finalists; Y companies and/or corporate leaders commit to mentoring young entrepreneurs and/or youth-led companies developing solutions to climate change.

Objective 3: Reach beyond the “climate bubble” and engage new, younger audiences, particularly from the Global South.

This will be achieved through partnerships with the private sector, philanthropic foundations, and/or celebrity influencers, X millions of people reached worldwide as a result of innovative public engagement campaigns.